Thirsk Mass Times and Guidance, plus availability for Private Prayer

 All Saints Thirsk Mass Guidance

Dear Thirsk All Saints Parishioners,

Canon Pat asked me to review the logistics associated with parishioner seating and receiving holy communion during Sunday Mass in order to maintain parishioner safety and minimise any risk to health.

The following is the outcome from the review which I have discussed and agreed with Canon Pat

The latest government guideline for the safe use of places of worship stipulates the following :-

Social distancing guideline. "From 4th July, 2 metres or 1 metre with risk mitigation (where 2 metres is not viable) between households are acceptable".

To meet this social distancing criteria and minimise any risk the following will apply during mass at All Saints Church on a Sunday in the near term


1) To provide a 2 meter distance between parishioners during the service :-

Starting with the front bench in Church and moving from the front of church to the back alternate benches will be occupied.
Single parishioners will occupy a seat at either end of the bench
Couples from the same household who live together will occupy a single bench and can sit together.
Families who live together in the same household with 3 to 6 family members can occupy a single bench.


2) To minimise the risk whilst receiving holy communion the following risk mitigating measures will apply :-

Canon Pat will be wearing a visor and associated personal protection maintaining 1 meter distance between himself and the parishioner receiving the Body of Christ.
The host will be received in the hand only
Parishioners will remove one side of their mask whilst receiving the host, replacing their mask once the host has been received and then return to their seating place
Parishioners will receive communion one bench at a time with no queuing in the aisle and in this way the social distance will be circa 1 meter for a very limited period of time whilst they receive communion and transit from and to their seats.

In order to apply the above measures there will be 30 allocated attendee places at each mass service comprising 24 allocated places downstairs in the benches and 6 allocated places upstairs where the choir would normally sit.

Canon Pat has kindly offered to conduct two services on a Sunday with Church deep cleaning in between each service in order to allow as many parishioners to attend mass and receive holy communion as possible.

Parishioners who want to attend mass and feel able to do so are required to go to the website indicated below or ring Canon Pat if they are unable to access the Internet, and register their attendance. Places will be allocated on a 1st come 1st served basis and once that service is full parishioners will no longer be able to register and attend that particular service

Please go to the following website to register your attendance at either the Sunday am or pm service

http://all-saints.herokuapp.com/

The following guidelines apply to the registration process :-

If you are a single parishioner, register your name and click the registration button
In this way 1 allocated place will be taken.

If you are a couple who live together in the same household enter each persons name one at a time and click the registration button after each name entry.
In this way 2 allocated places will be taken.

If you are a family who live together in the same household comprising 3 to 6 family members register the name of 2 members of the household one at a time clicking the registration button after each name is entered
In this way 2 allocated places will be taken and the family will occupy a single bench during the service.

I hope the above is clear and transparent and if any clarity is required or you have any issue occupying the website please don't hesitate to contact me or Canon Pat

lawrencehill05@gmail.com

or

Canon Pat allsaintsthirsk@rcdmidd.org.uk on 01845 527011

We will monitor how this system works and are open to any comments or feedback you may have.

We look forward to the day when we can return to "normal" and attend mass freely with no restrictions or concerns

Thank you in anticipation of your help and support in making the above system work.

Click Here for the current Mass times